Man who had sex with 12-year-old jailed
So goes - just the headline, mind you - in our newspaper, The Telegram, today.
Is there anyone else out there who gets enraged with those few words in bold black ink?
The man, 26 years old, 'had sex' with a child.
'Had sex' implies consent, does it not? It implies two adults agreeing to have sex with each other, right? Consensual sex.
It implies a twelve year old child can agree to have sex with anyone she chooses. It implies she is a fully functioning adult who can make adult decisions with regard to sex. But not vote, or drive a car or get a job or live on her own.
And the news story gets worse:
“ There was no overt violence,” Judge Robert Hyslop said during Skanes’ sentencing at provincial court in St. John’s. “(But) this was an intrusive act that caused (the young girl) psychological damage.”
Hyslop then gave Skanes a twoyear prison term.
As Skanes was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs, his wife, as well as members of the victim’s family, sobbed.
Skanes showed no reaction, only to hang his head.
The St. John’s man pleaded guilty to one count of sexual interference. A charge of sexual assault was withdrawn by the Crown in exchange for the guilty plea.
Skanes admitted having sex three times with the girl between April and June last year, when he was 25 years old and she was 12.
The two first began flirting on a computer instant-messaging program before beginning a sexual relationship.
Skanes told the girl to keep it a secret.
They used a condom each time they had sex, but the third time, the condom broke.
That caused a pregnancy scare for the girl, who went to Planned Parenthood to get tested.
“Fortunately,” the judge said, “she didn’t get pregnant.”
Crown prosecutor Heidi Wells had recommended a two-to threeyear jail term, pointing to the victim’s young age and Skanes’ lack of insight into the seriousness of the crime.
A pre-sentence report deemed Skanes a medium risk to reoffend, saying he seems to have distanced himself from what he did and fails to acknowledge he should not have done it. Instead, Skanes continued to point out that other adults knew about the relationship and didn’t do anything.
I can parse some of it here before I get too queasy. I leave the rest of the report up to you to sort out.
“ There was no overt violence,” said Judge Robert Hyslop
And Judge Robert, sir, what would be overt violence in your little law book? Would you say this about your 12 year old daughter if she had been thus raped and violated?
"beginning a sexual relationship". Again this implies consent on behalf of the child. A "relationship" originating in stalking by a paedophile of a child through messaging on the computer.
The words RAPE, PAEDOPHILE and PREDATOR were not used once in the whole article.
And oh yeah, he got two years. His wife wept as he was hauled off.
Rape and paedophilia apologia is alive and well and supported by the media.
It is never considered a great crime until it hits their own doorstep. My mother was right, the perpetrator should have his whotsits cut off!
ReplyDeletewow..sick and sad. The “ There was no overt violence,” really stuck out for me too
ReplyDeleteWell said WWW. Even if the girl had a crush on him (as I confess I often had on my male teachers at a similarly tender age), he was the ADULT and it does seem he deliberately groomed this young girl for his own sick gratification.
ReplyDeleteShould have been at least a decade. As for his WIFE, what is she thinking of? A shock for her maybe, but get divorced and move on you pathetic excuse for a woman!
You have to be of a pretty perverted mind if you want to have sex with a 12 year old and I call that rape, there is no other word for it. A 12 year old is not able to give her consent for such a thing, nor is she ready for it. That man did his best to get her to the point that he could abuse her. He was not an innocent boyfriend. A pedophile he most definitely is and a predator too. He will try this again and succeed most likely. His wife is very ill informed. I hope that girl is going to be alright.
ReplyDeleteUgh. And, as you've about before, what does this do to the girl's life, especially since she doesn't see the man as really being punished. This gives her the message that she did something wrong.
ReplyDeleteDitto to Grannymar's comment.
ReplyDeleteHis wife wept? Is that all? How about ditching him and finding someone civilised? Yes, the whole impression that this was a consensual relationship rather than an adult forcing himself on an innocent child is bizarre. The judge doesn't live in the real world.
ReplyDeleteSickening, WWW!
ReplyDeleteAnother "Hear hear!" to Grannymar's comment from me too.
What was that judge thinking? There is just no way this was right. I'm with Grannymar, and would add a large tattoo on his chest that said "I'm a pedophile".
ReplyDelete